BlackBerry Q10 hands-on

Forget the all-touch Z10 for a moment. This here is RIM'sBlackBerry'sother BB 10 device -- the BlackBerry Q10. As you can tell from its alphanumeric moniker, that single letter is a nod towards the handset's physical leanings. That's right, it's a hybrid touch / physical QWERTY model and one that diehard BlackBerry fans won't only be more familiar with, but potentially more willing to embrace with open palms. With a 720 x 720 Super AMOLED 3.1 inch display, the Q10's screen is slightly larger than its touch hybrid predecessor, the Bold 9930, and sports a much tighter pixel density of 328ppi (BlackBerry claims the display is 360ppi, which doesn't jibe with our math). The screen itself is plenty bright and contrasty with incredible viewing angles. We didn't notice any of the telltale blue-tinge typical of AMOLED implementations, but the overtly blue lighting around us might have helped mask those shortcomings.

The steel band around the middle and "glass weave" backplate actually gave the device a pleasantly premium feel in our hands. It was solid, well shaped and smooth to the touch without being plasticky. The 1.5GHz dual-core CPU and 2GB of RAM keep the device humming along quite smoothly. It reacted almost instantaneously to input with no hiccups. The smaller screen size did make touch input seem a little less natural, but the ability to just start typing and search or perform actions (such as sending an email) more than made up for the slightly cramped confines.

The 10.3mm thick body does feel slightly chunky when compared to it's all touch sibling the Z10, and downright brick-like next to a svelte beauty like the Galaxy S III, but its short stout shape will fit in your pocket and palm with equal ease. At 139g it does pack some heft, but we dont see that as a bad thing. The phone feels like it means business -- something we can't say for some of its plasticky Android competitors. For more, check out the gallery below and the video after the break.Gallery: BlackBerry Q10 (hands-on)